In Griffon Province, the head of the family sat in tense silence. Before him stood a woman in her twenties—beautiful, yet no one in the council dared to look at her the way they wished. The woman spoke,
"So you claim you know nothing about what's happening here?"
"My lady, Sol Hart was the one compiling the reports, and—"
"Did you verify the accuracy of those reports? Did you ever send your soldiers to Neumann Province?"
"…"
The family head could not answer. Neumann Province was terrifying, filled with numerous malevolent spirits—who would dare enter such a place while suppressing their own power?! As long as things had seemed calm and peaceful, he had never forced himself to verify anything. Who could have known that such negligence would lead to this catastrophe?!
The malevolent spirit had been hiding countless spirits, releasing only a few every two months so no one would grow suspicious! Sol had even once asked him to investigate the place, but he hadn't taken her seriously. And now the woman before him was ready to roast him with her flames—he even doubted the king would reprimand her!
She said coldly,
"Do you know, you idiot, what will happen to you if either of them is harmed—especially Shion Lan?! Even the graves of the Neumann family wouldn't be enough to hold all of you!"
"Lady Rona Flair, please calm down a little!"
A young man with a sword hanging at his waist spoke up.
"We need to move toward the Neumann family's province now and search for them, then deal with the malevolent spirit."
"Kin Light, do you think killing spirits is as easy as you imagine?"
"I don't know whether I can or not, but I trust in my lady, the Moon Sorceress."
"Yes, that's right. You're here because of your inheritance… Very well, let's depart now."
She rose from her chair and cast a sharp glance at the head of the Griffon family, making him tremble, then left. As Rona contacted the head of the Flair family, Kin Light thought to himself:
'Even the famous Fire Sorceress Rona Flair admires that man! First it was the second princess, Jina Joul, and now two daughters of the Six Great Families! She was speaking with Beliza Sano, and both of them showed admiration toward him. Still, things will be fine as long as it doesn't turn into love—because he's still unable to stand against any of them.'
He noticed Rona had stopped. They had arrived at the Flair battalion, and ahead of them appeared a white line of cold, watery energy advancing toward them.
"The Sano family!"
At the front stood the head of the family, Brad Sano, alongside Glass Sano—the family's heir—and Bliza Sano, the first young lady of the family.
"No one will wait for us! We'll meet them inside!"
Miral Flair, head of the Flair family, spoke as he led his red battalion toward Neumann Province.
…
At the Neumann family's training grounds, Shion was training with all his might.
"I'll achieve it now!!"
He swung his claws, and nine cuts burst forth from them, burning with devastating power toward their target.
"Yes!!!"
Shion shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Three years! Three years, and I've finally reached nine cuts and nine threads! I think I need some rest now!"
Shion sat on the ground, staring at the aftermath of his training. Then a pure, gentle voice reached his ears.
"Master Guardian, I see you've achieved what you wanted. Congratulations!"
Shion looked at Solan Neumann, now fifteen years old. The signs of womanhood had begun to appear, making her incomparable to the famous beauties of the kingdom. Shion muttered softly,
"Honestly… she's even more beautiful than… Bi Ri, even!"
Solan walked over to the impact area and said,
"I'm glad I could help you with your training, Master Guardian."
She began gathering the debris. Shion thought to himself:
'If she hadn't used her third-level spiritual magic, I wouldn't have been able to touch or strike anything at all. Thanks to her, it became easy. I think I'm ready for what's coming later this year.'
Over the past three years, after the king's visit, the Six Great Families had come to take a look at Solan. They were astonished that she had reached the first circle at such an age. According to the recorded past, she was only at the first circle then—though in reality she was already on the verge of the third. They wanted to betroth her quickly to one of their sons, but matters soon calmed when the girl grew frightened, spirits flooded the area, and the families felt a murderous gaze watching them from everywhere. They decided to retreat.
Imat Neumann continued visiting the locations of the magic circles to inspect them, but—
"There's something strange about Sora Neumann. He's been absent from the palace lately, claiming he's handling some affairs. His face has been full of anger—he even frowned at Solan. At first, that felt like an unforgivable sin for him. But as I said, he's been outside all the time, and no one knows what he's doing. Whenever he's asked, he just says 'some business.' I don't feel comfortable about this man either!"
A voice interrupted Shion's thoughts.
"Master Guardian, everything will happen soon."
Her eyes were sad. Shion thought,
"That's right. This is the year the family will be destroyed! Solan has even been trembling lately."
Shion walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"I know you can't feel my hands or hear my voice, but I will protect you!"
Solan could only see two dark shapes descending onto her shoulders. Though she felt no physical touch, warmth filled her heart.
"Thank you, Master Guardian."
Some time passed. Shion sat on the palace roof, looking around.
"I've done everything I could over these years. Now, all that remains is the result!"
As soon as he said this, the ground began to shake. The air and atmosphere trembled violently. From the nine circles, bloody, malevolent rays shot out, forming a barrier that surrounded the palace. All the powerful members of the Neumann family rushed out to see what was happening.
At the grave of Lady Florid Neumann, the malevolent spirit emerged, screaming with all its might—yet it said something strange:
"End this nonsense at once!"
Suddenly, Shion felt an unnatural force pulling him.
"Huh?! I'm not even part of this!"
But his body—or his soul—didn't listen. He was dragged toward Sora Neumann's room. The colors faded from the room, reverting to the old appearance Shion had first seen fifteen years ago.
"This…?! Have we left the recorded past?!"
Shion cried out in shock, only to be struck by a sudden headache.
"Did you miss me, you bastard?"
It was Shi Yun Lan's voice. Shion couldn't respond as he tried to process everything.
"Shi Yun Lan!"
"This isn't the time for jokes. That thing has manifested outside. The director and two battalions will arrive soon. You have to hold on until then!"
Suddenly, Shion remembered something and looked outside.
"Sol!"
He shouted and rushed toward the room where Sol Hart should have been—only to stop abruptly, stunned by the scene before him. A breathtakingly beautiful girl stood there, dusting off her clothes. When she looked at him, her pure skin and clear eyes met his gaze. Shion Lan muttered in disbelief,
"Solan Neumann?!"
Solan looked at him in confusion.
"Hm? Who are you?"
A sense of emptiness washed over Shion.
"I stayed with you for fifteen years, and you don't recognize me?"
He said only one thing:
"Your guardian."
Solan's eyes widened in disbelief. Shion asked hurriedly, scanning the room,
"Where is Sol Hart?"
"Oh? Right—I made her flee from here."
"What?! What do you mean by that?! There's an army outside!"
"There are no malevolent spirits outside anymore, so I let her go."
"What about the third and fourth levels?! We never faced them in the past!"
"They don't exist!"
Solan shouted irritably as she saw Shion growing agitated as well.
"Is that true?"
"Yes."
"I wanted to ask her something…"
"No time! We left the past before the malevolent spirit, but now it's summoning itself!"
"That's fine. I've defeated it several times—this won't be any different!"
"But, Master Guardian—!"
"My name is Shion Lan."
Solan took a calm breath before saying,
"Shion, I'll explain simply. The malevolent spirit is sacrificing all the spirits that were trapped in the recorded past. Fortunately, I managed to save my spirits. But it used the third- and fourth-level spirits that no longer exist in reality to break the seal."
"And will it succeed?!"
Shion was shocked. He knew he wouldn't even have a chance to defend himself—even at the eighth level. Solan answered bitterly,
"Will it succeed? It already has. In just a few minutes, it will kill us. We're now within its domain—the Blood Spirit Domain."
Shion stepped back slightly.
"Is there a chance to defeat it?"
His voice was steady, surprising Solan.
"You don't want to run?"
"That depends on your answer. If there's a chance, I'll take it. If not, I'll take you with me and we'll escape."
Solan smiled bitterly.
"Thank you for caring about me, but in a scene that never formed, I fought the malevolent spirit with the spirit I had and sacrificed it to create a seal. This place has become my prison as well, because I used my soul's power."
"A forbidden spell?"
"Yes. So please, run."
"So there's no way to defeat it?"
"I might have a way—but you can't."
"Why?!"
Shion shouted fiercely, unwilling to let Solan face this danger alone. She replied,
"I used a circle and purified it with my magic over many years, so I can use power similar to its own for a while. I'll search for the remaining summoning circles and break them. Then I can destroy this spirit once and for all—and avenge my family."
Solan spoke with resolve and determination. As Shion wrestled with his thoughts, a sharp headache struck him. Before Shion Lan could speak, Shi Yun Lan said casually,
"You can also use the magic circle."
Shion's eyes widened.
"Give me a moment to think!"
He sat on the ground and closed his eyes. Solan stood there, watching this familiar scene—one that had repeated over fifteen years. She smiled sadly, knowing she would soon part from him.
Then a brilliant smile spread across his face. He stood up and said,
"I'll stand by your side!"
Solan's eyes narrowed.
"Please leave! Don't be reckless!"
Shion placed his hands on her shoulders—and this time, she felt them. He said in a firm, unwavering voice,
"I also have the ability to use the power of the magic circle."
"What?!"
Solan asked in disbelief. He continued,
"And also…"
He looked into her stunned eyes and said,
"Its level has dropped to the seventh."
"…."
Solan couldn't say a word as her breathing quickened and her cheeks flushed red.
But at that moment, a scream shook the palace garden.
"You bastard! Come out and accept your death!"
The malevolent spirit was screaming for Shion Lan to appear before it.